NEW FOR MONDAY: Wanted Armed Robbery Suspect Caught In Pa

OCEAN CITY — The fifth suspect wanted in connection with an armed robbery at a Route 50 convenience store on Friday evening was apprehended this morning in Pennsylvania after being sought all weekend by resort police.< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office">

Around 8:30 a.m. this morning, Pennsylvania State Police apprehended Charles Richard Conden III, 19, of Edwardsville, Pa. Conden was nabbed in the area of Wyoming in Kingston, Pa. after a two-day crime spree in Pennsylvania and the Ocean City area that included an armed robbery with at least one shot fired in the Raceway Citgo on Route 50 near Route 589 on Friday along with four other suspects.

Prior to the armed robbery at Raceway Citgo on Friday, around 2 a.m. on Friday, Conden and another suspect shot out the door of a multi-million dollar estate owned by prominent businessman Ken Pollock in Lehman Township in Pennsylvania in an armed home invasion. According to a Pennsylvania State Police press release, Conden and the other suspect entered the residence, but fled after about five minutes when the estate’s burglar alarm triggered. A 90-year-old woman at home at the time barricaded herself in a closet, but no injuries were reported.

After that early morning incident on Friday, Conden and four other suspects headed to the Ocean City area and carried out the armed robbery with a shot fired at the Raceway Citgo store on Route 50 at Route 589 on Friday evening. Around 5 p.m. on Friday, Ocean City Police were monitoring the Maryland State Police radio frequency when a call went out for a reported armed robbery at the Raceway Citgo store on Route 50 near Route 589. The suspects fled the scene in a blue Chevrolet with Pennsylvania tags and headed east on Route 50 toward Ocean City.

A vehicle description was broadcast to all officers in the area and the vehicle was soon located heading north on Coastal Highway in the area of 77th Street. OCPD officers attempted to stop the vehicle at 80th Street to no avail. During the subsequent pursuit, the vehicle reached speeds in excess of 80 mph on a crowded Coastal Highway in prime time in August.

Conden reportedly got out of the vehicle at around 100th Street and fled on foot. On Friday evening, the OCPD put out a bulletin warning area residents and visitors that Conden was still at large and should be considered armed with a handgun and dangerous.

Meanwhile, the blue Chevrolet continued north on Coastal Highway at a high rate of speed before crashing into another vehicle while attempting to turn right. The four suspects involved in the pursuit fled the scene on foot, but were apprehended moments later by OCPD officers and bystanders. The suspects have been identified as Sarah Jean Gryskevicz, 19 of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Antonio Lee Suarez, 18, of Allentown, Pa.; Payne Stewart Prasnikar, 21, of Stillwater, Pa.; and a female juvenile. During the initial investigation, it was learned the vehicle was stolen during a robbery on Thursday in Pennsylvania prior to the armed home invasion and the armed robbery in the Ocean City area.

No injuries were reported at the armed robbery. The suspects reportedly fired a shot as they left the store. In addition, no major injuries were reported during the vehicle collision at 120th Street. The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation is handling the criminal investigation. Charges are pending against the suspects from both the OCPD and WCBI.

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